A SET OF SIX - VOLUME EIGHTEEN
Touch Football Australia brings you this rapid fire "Set of Six" news 'plays' from around the Country.
TFA's National Media Coordinator Karley Banks and TFA's Media Intern Henry Holland bring you up to date every week with a selection of six 'plays' on the latest news, views, and events nationally.
Welcome to Touch Football Australia's a Set of Six - Volume Eighteen.
VICTORIA (VIC)
Play: #1
Nagle College hosts Gippsland Touch Tournament
Nagle College in Bairnsdale hosted the Gippsland Touch Tournament last Wednesday 29th August 2007. The tournament was a great success with 300 children from schools all over the district competing. The highlight of the day was the final game between the senior boys and staff members. The staff team was victorious in the end, although somewhat controversially – at one stage they played with 14 on the field!
Nagle College teacher Johnny Katal has signed an application for a new competition affiliate with TFA in Bairnsdale. The Bairnsdale Nagle College competition will begin in October and will aim to encourage both juniors and seniors to be involved.
Other events:
- Victorian Development Officer Ali Tuai has had an award named after him at Eumemmering College, Hallam Campus, because of his great work at the school through the Touch Football program and other sports. The Ali Tuai Perpetual Trophy will be awarded every year to the best sportswoman at the campus. TFA-Victoria would like to congratulate Ali on this well-deserved honour.
- Jayde McFarland has been named the new president at the Shepparton Touch Association. Wayne Demery has been appointed in the same role at the Borderline Touch Association. TFA-Victoria would like to wish Jayde and Wayne the best of luck in their new positions.
- Borderline Touch Association held its AGM on Sunday 26th August. It also held a meeting on Monday 3rd September to organise the 2007-2008 season.
- The Victorian Catholic All Schools Touch Championship is coming up next week on September 11, with all the schools involved training hard for the tournament hosted at Aquinas College, Ringwood. Good luck to all those competing or involved this year.
The Touch Football Victoria web site: www.victouch.com.au
WESTERN AUSTRALIA (WA)
Play: #2
Summer Season launch
TouchWest will officially launch the start of the Summer Season this Sunday 9 September 2007. From 8:30am until 12pm, at the UWA Sports Park, there will be participation opportunities for both novice and elite players.
Beginners will be giving a basic run-down of the rules to help their play and introduce them to refereeing. They will be sorted into teams to compete in the Novice 6's competition. Once the competition is over, the details of their nearest affiliate's competition will be given so they can be fostered into teams.
Teams will also be able to enter into the Fast and Furious 5's. Five players will play for 13-minute turn-around games in a tournament. Teams wanting to get a run before the season proper will have the opportunity to clash with some of the best Perth players including the WA State 18's team who will shortly head for the National Titles in Coffs Harbour.
The Season Launch is in the middle of a successful radio campaign on Nova that has sparked much interest in the sport. WA State Manager Matt Bamford and Game Development Officer Angela Doyle were also interviewed on ABC local radio last Thursday about the development of sport in the state and growing interest for individuals of all ages.
So “Be Active” and join your local Touch Footy comp this summer!
Other events:
With Touch Football Australia's National 18's event only weeks away it's time to meet the players representing WA this year.
The teams have been training hard for a number of months under the watchful eyes of coaches Shelley Matcham (Girls) and Toby Hohapata (Boys). TouchWest would like to wish all players well for the tournament. Click onto the underlined players to read their Player Profile.
2007 18's Girls Team 2007 18's Boys Team
Leia Allen James Bermingham
Monita Falamoe Dylan Boxtel
Claire French Joshua Brennan
Jedda Hill Manasseh Ellery
Lara Jeffers Matthew Farmer
Peta Leddy Zack Gray
Karra Marijanich James Johnstone
Meghan Mitchell Dan King
Tara Morgan Travis McLaughlin
Anna Mulhern Aphirak Paul
Jenaya Quan Te iwi Paul
Rachel Treacy Chris Traynor
Marama Waterfield Ben Yule
Nicole West
Sharon Wong
Coach: Shelley Matcham Coach: Toby Hohapata
Asst Coach: Nelle Hokianga Asst Coach: John Johnstone
Manager: Connie Jackaman Manager: Russell Moeahu
The TouchWest website: www.touchwest.com.au
SOUTH AUSTRALIA (SA)
Play: # 3
2007 Australasian Masters Games Entries Extended
The cut-off for entries in this year’s Australasian Masters Games in Adelaide has been extended.
The Games will take place 5th – 14th October, 2007, with Touch being scheduled for the final four days of competition.
Team entries close on the 17th September
Individual entries close on the 9th October
Don’t miss out on your opportunity to compete at the 2007 Australasian Masters Games!
Other events:
The Catholic Schools Touch Football Competition is coming up from 11 – 13 September, 2007. 290 teams from Catholic Schools around South Australia will battle it out in what is sure to be a sporting pinnacle for the hundreds of junior players taking part.
The Touch Football South Australia website: www.touchsa.com.au
NORTHERN TERRITORY (NT)
Play: #4
NT School Sport Touch Championship and Exchange Tournament
The Northern Territory School Sport Touch Championships and Exchange events were conducted from Monday 27th to Friday 31st August, 2007. The Championships were held Monday to Wednesday with the Exchange running from Wednesday to Friday.
Wednesday was the most hectic day with the finals for the Championships and the starting day for the Exchange.
Players form all over the Territory formed Cluster teams for the event. The teams included Desert Storm (Alice Springs and surrounding communities), Parcs (rural area of Darwin), Rivers (Katherine and surrounding areas), Darwin City, Northern Suburbs and Arnhem (Gove, Groote Eylandt and Maningrida).
The week produced some great Touch. The Northern Suburbs girls’ team won the Championships going through undefeated. The boys’ division was a hard fought competition with the top-four teams all being on par with each other. The quarterfinals were all won by a one-touchdown margin. Northern Suburbs eventually ran out winners.
In the Exchange Tournament the girls and boys had two pools. In the girls Northern Suburbs and Rivers won one pool while Parcs won the other. Parcs and Desert Storm were both victorious in their respective boys’ pools.
Other events:
Northern Territory teams have been selected after the Northern Territory School Sport Touch Championships and Exchange. They will be posted on the Touch Football Northern Territory website in the next few days.
The Northern Territory web-site: www.touchnt.com.au
AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY (ACT)
Play: # 5
Primary School Junior Gala Days Going Gangbusters!
ACT Touch held the Year 5-6 gala day on 22nd August 2007 with 30 teams participating.
Congratulations to St Edmunds who took out the Boys title and to Kaleen Primary who were victorious in the Girls Division.
This Wednesday 5 September will see in excess of 70 teams take to the Deakin fields for the Year 3-4 gala day.
The focus is on participation and enjoyment with no scoring, points tables or trophies. It’s all about getting out there and having some fun!
The record numbers for the year 3-4 day will keep the ACT Touch staff on their toes. It promises to be a great (and very busy) day!
Other events:
- Why not bring your team to the CANBERRA CUP?
November 2-4, 2007, Deakin Fields, Canberra ACT.
All TFA affiliated players/teams are welcome and there will be prize money in the competitive divisions.
Nomination Fee: $350/team incl GST
Divisions: Men's, Women's, and Mixed (Both Social and Competitive)
Enquiries to ACT Touch Association on (02) 6212 2880 or info@acttouch.com.au
- ACT Touch Summer Competitions Starting Soon!As the current winter season draws to a close, ACT Touch is calling for nominations for the upcoming Summer Season.
The season commences on Tuesday 2nd October 2007 and runs through until 28th February 2008 with a 3 – 4 week recess over Xmas.
An early bird incentive price of $950/team is available until 12th September 2007.
For more info phone (02) 6212 2880.
The Australian Capital Territory website: www.acttouch.com.au
NEW SOUTH WALES (NSW)
Play # 6
Pink Panthers fundraiser a winner
The Penrith Panthers Women’s Premier League Division Vawdon Cup Team donned Pink headbands for their clash against the Wests Magpies last Friday night 31 August 2007 to raise money for the National Breast Cancer Foundation.
The “Pink Panthers” raised $2000 for the most worthy of causes by selling headbands, doing a Pink piggy bank collection post game, and by donating $50 for every touchdown scored in their game.
The Panthers were beaten 10-4 by competition heavyweights Wests, but the youthful Panthers gave their all and were determined to score as many touchdowns as possible to raise funds for the fight against breast cancer.
Over 13,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year. That equates to 36 women a day, and of those, 7 sadly will succomb to the illness.
The Penrith girls were overwhelmed by the support they received from businesses and members of the Touch Football community. Reflex generously donated $500 to the cause, Crushers Touch Club in Brisbane matched Penrith’s team donation, as did Penrith player Renae Balmer.
Penrith Coach Jacky Patrick was overwhelmed by the reaction of the touch community.
“Doing something like this is quite inspiring – it brings home the fact that there are so many good people in the Touch community. We are thinking of doing this as an annual event. We sold out of headbands in ten minutes…the girls had a lot of fun and we raised some money for a great cause, it was a great night,” Patrick said.
The Panthers initiative certainly has inspired a lot of other Touch Football clubs with other teams from around Australia keen to get behind the initiative with Penrith next year.
Other Events:
Round Eight of the Vawdon Cup will be played this Friday night at the Tempe and Bankstown venues. The competition has now been split into two pools for the last three rounds in the Men’s and Women’s Premier League, depending upon finishing order at the end of Round seven.
Voting in the prestigious Boland & Smith Medals for the Player of the Series in the two premier divisions has also gone behind close doors with Canterbury duo Steve Roberts (Boland Medal) and Claire Winchester (Smith Medal) leading the contenders.
To check out playing groups, all the results, and the weekly wrap from the Vawdon Cup visit the New South Wales Touch Association web site.
New South Wales Touch Association: www.nswtouch.com.au
That’s it for this week’s edition of "A Set of Six".
Be sure to visit each State’s website for all the latest news and information from around the nation.
